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Narrowed speaker selection down to 5 choices

I like all kinds of music. My new room is 13.5x21x9. My amp is Spectron Mus. III SE MK2 w/ all MIT cabling. Speakers are: PBN EPX, Thiel 3.7, Revel studio 2, Dynaudio Contour S5.4, and Focal 1037BE. Speaker will be on short(13.5") wall. Speaker must excell in imaging,resolution,midrange presence,dynamics,tight articulate bass(no muddy midrange,or bloat),and full freq. range. I now have Dali Helicon 400 MK 2. I love the Dali's imaging but, I can't get past a little midrange glare. Tried speaker cables,amps,room postioning,etc. Nothing seems to tame this speakers voicing in this room. Now my old room was 23x28x14 and the Dalis sang in that room. I had more weight and and bass in the larger older room. I would have never guessed that the Dali's would be leaner in the newer smaller room. Help, Opiions needed. If you can think of other speakers in the 5K to 8K range that may work for me then let me have it.
philefreak
missioncoonery
1,237 posts
 
IMO given your short list I would lean toward the Focals or the Revels.Never liked Theil at all,know nothing about PBN,pass on Dynaudio unless you step-up to the Confidence line then your talkin.....and would definately add the Sophia 2 to the list(big mistake if you dont listen to them before a purchase)
philefreak OP
423 posts
 
Rtn, I tried Cardas Golden reference and Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables. Both of these have been warmer in my previous room. They helped some but took away in other areas. I just had to basically live with my choice of compromises. Well, I'm tired of compromise.
philefreak OP
423 posts
 
Missioncoonery, The problem with the Sophia 2 is the price. They're going for 10K used so they're out. The best I can do is 8K for now. Are the Sophia 2's worth waiting and saving til my budget can afford them?
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
you can get the sophia 1's for the lower end of the range and i really don't think it is a compromise...
rtn1
535 posts
 
The reason why I suggested cables is that you indicated the Dali's were satisfying in the bigger room. That means they may have potential in the new room with a little work. Plus, there are no perfect speakers out there, and your new speaker may have the same issues. You mentioned alterations in speaker placement, but I would try without any toe-in and spaced as wide as you can get them if that has not been done already. Also, try inverting the phase of the speaker cables at the speaker end. This can be the cause of your problem, too.

I think Cardas is a pretty warm cable, perhaps at the expense of detail and bottom end extension. I do not know about Acoustic Zen. There is plenty of info on the cables I mentioned. There are cables out there that provide a full midrange without compromising other aspects. My initial impression is that Jade Audio fits that bill, but you would only know by trying.

Or perhaps it is time for a change. As for your choices, you will get opinions all over the map.
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